"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."
Gabriel Garcia Marquez: "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

Thursday, 17 February 2011

Amy Winehouse where are you?

I don't know how well-known Amy Winehouse is around the world. She is an English singer of bluesy rock and pop music and one of the great talents of her generation.﻿ She has had severe personal problems in her life with drink, drugs and boyfriends.

Her songs are often personal and sometimes x-rated and can be very funny (see 'Fuck Me Pumps'). Fittingly, her biggest hit was called 'Rehab'. There was a CD called Frank released in 2003 and Back to Black in 2006 and the only thing since then is a boxed-set of those two albums although she was the featured vocalist on Mark Ronson's 'Valerie'. There have been rumours for sometime that she is 'turning her life around' and about to launch a new recording. Nothing has happened yet but I hope it's true; her kind of talent is in short supply.

Dear bazza,Amy Winehouse where are you? Indeed.I have both her albums and think that "Back to Black" is a particularly great record. It is a real pity that she became so self-destructive and I hope that she comes back better and wiser soon.Suffice to say, I share your enthusiasm for her music, bazza.Wishing you all the best,David.

TBFKA: Conquering demons is indeed what it's all about. Her dad, Mitch, is playing at a fund-raising event for Sonny this weekend! I can't help thinking that, if she were American she would be world-famous. Perhaps she is, I don't know.

David: Back to Black is the superior one. Just think what she could be doing now! Best Regards to you David.

joanne fox: Yes, she seems a bit reluctant to do what is necessary to recover. I suppose it's easy for me to say that but that's how it seems to me.

To tell the truth, I'd never listened to her before. Every time a story or a picture was shown of her on the news or mags, they always depicted her as a worn out drug addict. That image of her kind of put me off so I didn't bother listening to her music.

But you know, after clicking on those links and listening to her songs just now, and after hearing "You Know I'm No Good", probably my favorite of those songs on YouTube, I can see why you think she's talented. She sings really friggin' great. Now I know her as somebody that's got a great voice, not just the burnt out drug addict as she's always depicted. Still, I hope she wins her battle with her addictions.

Kelly: One of the reasons I posted this is because I thought a few people may have heard of her only as a burnt-out addict. I'm glad that you bothered to listen and were impressed. 'You Know I'm No Good' is one of my favourites too but there's a limit to how many songs I could link to. The fact that she is so very talented makes the story that much more tragic.Have a great weekend Kelly.

Hi bazza,Although, I personally, do not like her music, especially when I wonder why she is trying to sound like an American Blues singer. Nonetheless, personal dislikes for her singing, aside, I do hope that she turns her life around, for the better, sooner, rather than later. I've heard that she has much preference to the island of St. Lucia.Take care and enjoy your weekend.With respect, Gary.

Gary: Hi, I think sounding like an American blues singer is a compliment. I really enjoy her singing but I'm not sure how much more we will hear.I reckon anyone would prefer St.Lucia to our current damp, dull weather!

it so often seems creatives gifted with so much talent find that it is something so big they lose their way inside of its vastness, that they themselves become undone inside of it, mistaking that creative vastness for something that IS themselves... every song or every creative work, kills them a little bit as fear makes its way in... fear that with every success there will never be another like it again... like a moth to a flame they eventually self immolate...

i hope Amy finds her way back to herself and can get out the way enough to get healthy so the music can just flow through her again...

pretty much certain she never will be the same again... no one who walks through the fire of suffering ever is...(as you well know with what your family is going through now...)

but it doesn't have to mean something negative comes of it... it really depends on so many things...

the question for amy that remains to be seen... from the fire will there be a cleansing and re-birth (and even more meaningful creative work that comes from that... because suffering can also deepen our own insights and perspectives if we so choose)... or will she dive further into the darkness and let herself be consumed to her own self destruction...

i'll keep hoping for the former... and hoping that carrying the hope for someone else can actually make a difference for them... and for ourselves...